


Dripping Sunset

by SkyLights17



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Murder, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Awkward Sexual Situations, Blood Drinking, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Humor, It’s Only In One Chapter And Ends Very Quickly, Magic, Supernatural Elements, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Vampires, Violence, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:22:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27609653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyLights17/pseuds/SkyLights17
Summary: When she heard the word “Vampire”, the first thing that came to mind was storybooks. She’d read plenty of myths about vampires back in her high school days. The supernatural myths had always been very interesting to her, even if she didn’t believe in them.But, standing on her front porch, tearing at the arms around her waist, had her wondering if this was really how she would die, alone in the forest while fangs sank into her neck.
Relationships: Bob Muyskens/Mandy Bell Muyskens, Mark Fischbach/Amy Nelson, Molly Barnes/Wade Barnes, Past Sean McLoughlin/Original Female Character(s), Sean McLoughlin/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. Nightmare

Madison sighed softly as she locked the door to the library where she worked. The building was large, red bricks worn from the years. Because of its age, the door wouldn’t lock properly sometimes, so she jiggled the handles, and when the door didn’t budge, she shoved the key into her pocket and made her way back to the car.

Winter was coming, and she could already feel the chill in the air. Her car was a beaten up pickup truck with peeling black paint, several dents along each side, and windows that had to be rolled down with a handle. The truck was older than she was, and despite its sometimes shaky reliability, she’d never had the heart to get rid of it. Not only did she not have the money for that, but it was the last thing her parents had given her before they passed away. It held so many good memories of her family that she just couldn’t bear to part with it.

Once inside, she cranked up the heat to knock the chill from her bones. She got cold easily and felt thankful that out of everything in the car that didn’t work, at the very least, the AC did. It took a few minutes, but by the time she was pulling onto the highway, warmth began to creep into the car.

She’d lived in this city for a long time, but about 2 years ago, she’d gotten tired of the fast pace of the city. She’d hoped that moving into the cabin in the forest would help ease the emptiness in her heart, and while she did enjoy the beauty of the forest, that emptiness only grew stronger, gnawing at the back of her mind, but she always pushed it aside, afraid of what would happen if she let herself think about it too long.

She followed the winding road that led into the forest, trees passing in a blur as she drove. She pulled up to the cabin, autumn leaves crunching under her feet as she walked up the steps to her front porch, slipping inside quietly.

The cabin was a decent size, not too big and not too small. The floors throughout the house were polished wood in a warm shade of brown. The walls had originally been beige, but she’d always hated it. She liked colorful things, so she chose to repaint them a peachy color. At the time, she was really nervous that it wouldn’t work with the furniture, but in the end, she’d really felt proud of the way it turned out.

The cabin had an open floor plan, and she’d always loved that. Her last apartment had been cramped, too many doors and walls that just got in the way. The front door looked into the living room, where two light grey couches sat, one facing the TV across from it, and the other resting against the wall on the other side with the back door a few feet to the right of it. Between the couch and the TV was a rectangular coffee table. The legs and edges of the table were made of whitewashed wood while the inner portion of the table was made of glass. There were two floor to ceiling windows on either side of the TV that were around five and a half feet wide, and they had matching light grey curtains. She’d opened them this morning to let the sunlight seep in. She loved the natural lighting, and the setting sun cast a dreamy orange glow across the room.

Diagonal to the living room was the kitchen, and she ambled into the kitchen, planning to look for something to eat.

The entrance to the kitchen was a large open doorway. The kitchen itself was nice. It had a round dark wood dining table to the left of the doorway and an open area to the right with plenty of room to move around and lots of counter space. The cabinets were also made of dark wood, and the countertops were smooth and white. The kitchen was the only room that was tiled. The tiles matched the countertops with the same bright white and smooth texture.

A large white refrigerator separated two sections of the counter with the stove across from it. She searched the fridge, finding that she only had a few vegetables and some expired meat. Dammit, that’s right. She was supposed to go shopping today. She let out a tired sigh, closing the fridge and pulling a glass from the cabinet instead. She threw some ice in the glass and pulled an unopened bottle of whiskey out of the cabinet above the stove, pouring some into the glass before putting the bottle back. God, she hadn’t drank in so long, and when the liquor hit the back of her throat she readily welcomed the burn.

She slipped out of the kitchen, turning on the TV as she sat down on the couch, pulling her legs up to rest beside her as she leaned against the arm rest, chin resting lazily on her hand. The news was playing, relaying the same information about a string of murders in the area. She flipped the channel to a random cartoon. She hated watching the news. That was something her parents had always complained about. They’d always told her that she needed to keep up to date on the news.

There was a time where news wasn’t spread by television and newspapers but through word of mouth instead, and she was perfectly content with living that way. If something was so dire that she needed to know about it, she’d hear it somewhere.

The TV was nothing more than dull background noise, keeping her grounded so she wouldn’t slip too far into her own mind.

_She raced through the forest, adrenaline pumping in her veins like liquid fire, pushing her to go faster. She was gasping for air, tears mixing with the soil smeared against her face. She’d almost been caught, by what, she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know why she’s running, doesn’t know why terror stabs at her heart like a recently sharpened knife._

_The trees are getting thicker. She can’t breathe. Her chest tightens dangerously. She smells blood, tastes copper on her tongue, but she can’t stop. It’s getting closer and her legs scream when she forces herself to speed up. The trees break apart, and suddenly she’s standing in front of an iced over lake. The ice is thick and covered in a thin layer of snow, but she’s scared to move. Fear grips her insides, and she takes off across the ice. It’s coming, and she needs to get away. She feels it shaking, sees the cracks forming under her feet, but she can’t stop. It’s too late to go back. She can see the other side, it’s so close. Then she sees it. There’s a man standing on the other side. A silent scream rips from her raw throat, and she’s so close._

_She sees sky blue amidst a sea of white before she’s plunged into the water. Cold stabs her skin like needles and all she sees is red. Bloodstained ice and crimson snow trap her in the scarlet sea. She screams and it fills her mouth. Copper and the smell of iron. It burns her eyes and forces itself down her throat, filling her lungs. It spills from her eyes and mouth as she kicks and bashes the ice with her hands._

She jolts awake, sputtering and crying as she gasps for air, eyes darting frantically around the room. The TV is still on, and her glass is still on the table. The sun has set completely, and her skin crawls when she looks out the window into the darkness. She shudders, quickly getting up to pull the curtains closed. She turns off the TV, stumbling shakily into the kitchen. She leaves the empty glass in the sink, leaning heavily against the counter as she tells herself that it was just a dream, that it was natural to have nightmares of the place where such a traumatic thing took place.

She shakes her head, trying to clear the memory of that day from her head. She quickly downs some water straight from the tap and retreats to her room to try and fall asleep.


	2. Bite Me

The next day isn’t any better.

She never managed to fall asleep after that nightmare, so when she drags herself out of bed the next morning to go to work, she feels dead on her feet. She goes to the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe as she tries to shake the fog from her mind.

The bathroom is nice. The room is painted a pearly white that brightens up the room since the cabinets are such a dark brown. The counter has two sinks and her few toiletries are sitting between them. The counters are the same as the ones in the kitchen. The smooth white surface is tinted yellow by the lights that hang above the mirror. Across from the counter is a large tub with a toilet a few feet to the left of it. Across from the doorway is a decently sized shower stall. The shower curtain has little pine trees printed on it, and her lips twitch up as she reminisces on the day she bought it.

She pushes herself away from the doorframe, and when she looks in the mirror, she scowls. She looks even worse than she feels. She’s got bags under her eyes accompanied by dark circles that look almost like bruises. Her cheeks look sunken in from exhaustion, and the fact that she hadn’t been eating much lately didn’t help. Her skin was sickly pale. When she really focused on her expression, she found herself wondering when the light had left her eyes.

The thought only makes her feel more tired, so she shakes it off and strips her clothes off before stepping into the shower. The hot water feels good on her cold skin and soothes the ache in her back. She’s had back problems since the day she’d gotten hurt at that stupid lake.

When she was young, she’d come here with her family, stayed in this same cabin, and gone to that lake. It was miles away, and at the time, it had felt well worth the trek through the freezing forest.

She’d gone out on her own, too curious for her own good. She could still remember running out onto that ice, screaming and panicking as blood dripped down her back, staining the ice and turning the snow red.

Since no one had seen what happened, they assumed she’d been attacked by a wild animal. Even to this day, she doesn’t remember what she was running from. It’s frustrating. She wants to know what happened back then, but she doesn’t want to keep living in that memory. She needs to move on.

Ever since that day, she’d had problems. Even after the gashes along her shoulders blades and back healed, it left behind a permanent ache. Some days it was fine, barely even noticeable, then there were the days where her shoulders ached and her back screamed in protest with every move. Thankfully, it seemed today would be one of the better days.

So she gets dressed in some jeans and a flannel shirt over a long sleeved black shirt. After a bit of debate, she decides on her favorite black combat boots. They’ll be easier to walk in when she has to lug in groceries after going shopping. With that, she tugs them on, throws on a coat, and slips out the door into the cold morning air.

The drive to work was uneventful as always, and when she made it to work, she unlocked the doors, making sure that everything was in order before flipping the sign in the front window to OPEN.

Her job was pretty normal. She worked from 8 am to 8 pm. Originally, her boss, the kind woman who owned the library, had refused to give her more hours. At the time, Madison had been in her last year of college and was really struggling with money. It had taken a lot of convincing, but she’d finally been given the extra hours she needed to pay off the last of it. Even after her student loans were paid, she’d kept the longer hours, putting the extra money into a savings account in case anything ever happened.

Her job was nothing special. She did whatever was needed around the building. She cleaned, stocked shelves when new books came in, helped people find things, and worked the register when needed.

At first, she’d loved everything. She could never pinpoint when things changed, but somewhere, it all took a turn for the worst. Things went down so fast it left her head spinning. Then, everything was gone, every ounce of meaning stripped from her life, leaving her empty and alone.

She leaned against the counter beside the register, watching through the front windows as the sun set, streaking the skies with a beautiful array of colors

In the corner of her eye, she could see one of her coworkers yawning as she cleaned the windows sleepily.

“Go home.” Madison called out to her, giggling when the woman jumped at the sound of her voice. The woman looked hesitantly between her and the window she’d been cleaning, and Madison waved off her concern. “I’ll get it. Go get some sleep. You look tired.”

“I could say the same about you.” The woman quipped, and Madison just shrugged in response, lips tugging into a half smile. “You know how I am.”

“Stubborn?”The woman raised an eyebrow at her, a playful smile on her face, and Madison snorted at her sassy retort. “Oh hush, you love me!”

The woman sat the rag on the windowsill, shaking her head at her. “Yeah yeah.” She smiled warmly at her, thanking her as she made her way to the door. She hesitated in the doorway, turning back to Madison long enough to smile worriedly. “Get some sleep, okay?”

Madison rounded the counter leisurely, picking up the rag as she started to clean the windows. “Go home, Clara. I’ll be alright.” With one last shake of her head, Clara slipped out the door, disappearing into the darkening parking lot.

She got home around 10 pm, and tiredly began to gather her groceries from the back seat. She hadn’t bought much, and she was thankful that she wouldn’t need a second trip to get them all inside. She’d just gotten up the last step when something made her pause. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up, and that sickening feeling from the night before washed over her.

Suddenly, two hands clamped around her upper arms, holding her in place as sharp fangs dug into her neck. The bags in her hands hit the ground with a loud thump as she yelped, elbowing the person multiple time in the ribs. The fangs retracted as the person grunted at the pain, and she struggled to break free of the person’s grip, but the hands on her arms tightened until she winced. A blood curdling scream ripped itself from her mouth as the fangs sank into her throat even harsher than before. She could feel blood cascading down her neck, and tears streamed down her face as the world tilted under her feet. She stumbled, and one of the arms curled around her waist, pulling her against the person’s chest. The pain slowly began to fade as her body went numb from shock. “...stop...” She choked on the word, voice hoarse as her vision went black.


	3. Baseball Bat

Madison opened her eyes, looking around groggily. She was in a bed, and once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she recognized that she was in her bedroom. She glanced at the small purple alarm clock on her bedside table. It read 2:47 am. She fumbled to turn the light on, nearly knocking the lamp over in the process. She squinted as her eyes readjusted to the change in lighting. Her bed was soft against her back, and for a minute, she debated just going back to sleep, but she knew she’d just be uncomfortable if she didn’t at least put on some pajamas.

She dragged herself out of bed, walking into the bathroom and froze as the events of the night flooded back to her. There were two nasty punctures in her neck, surrounded by a large forming bruise. She rushed back into her room, reaching behind her bed frame for the bat she kept in case of emergencies.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

She whipped around swinging the bat as hard as she could, only opening her eyes when she felt it stop. The man in front of her caught the top end of the bat a few inches from the side of his head, his eyes never leaving her. Before she can say anything, he snatches it out of her hands, and the force behind it leaves her reeling. He chucks it onto her bed before turning back to her.

“Sorry I sucked your blood.”

The words are spoken calmly, as if it’s an everyday activity for him, and she takes a minute to actually look at the man. He looks young, maybe a bit older than her. He’s pale and thin with lanky arms and long legs. His hair is a medium shade of brown, not quite light but not quite dark either. The sides of his head are shaved while the top is shaggy and falling over his forehead. His eyes are a startling shade of blue, clear like crystal and cold like ice. His eyes are almond shaped, crinkled at the edges and hidden behind thick black glasses. His nose is a bit on the bigger side, but not quite Shrek worthy either, and his mouth fits his face nicely with thin, soft lips. 

Then the words dawn on her, and her back slams against the wall as she frantically backs away from him, sputtering uselessly as the panic from earlier comes crashing back like a tidal wave. “Y-You wh-what?”

He raises an eyebrow at her as if he’s annoyed with her reaction before he shrugs carelessly. “You really need to take better care a yourself.” He demands, crossing his arms over his chest like an angry parent.

“Excuse me?” She splutters, mouth falling open as she stared at him incredulously.

“Your blood sucks.” He grumbles dismissively. “It’s obvious you haven’t been eating, an’ you taste sour from alcohol. Take care a yourself.”

Anger sparks in her chest at his condescending tone, and she shoves him backwards, stepping away from the wall. “Get out of my house.”

He raises an eyebrow, obviously about to protest, but she glowers venomously at him, and he rolls his eyes, grumbling about humans being too sensitive. He won’t get anywhere with her while she’s being like this, so he turns without a word, and all she sees is a blur of black as he disappears from the room, the only signal that he’s gone being the front door slamming shut.

She stomps into the living room, locking the front door before retreating into the kitchen. Her throat feels like sandpaper. She pauses in the doorway. Her groceries are sitting on the counter. She opens the fridge to find that everything cold had been neatly placed inside. She tucks the remaining boxes into their proper cabinets, and grabs a glass from the cabinet. She fills it with water and downs it in a few seconds, letting out a content sigh as the burn in her throat subsides. She wipes away the water that had dripped down her chin and fills the glass again. This time she takes her time sipping from the cup, savoring the feel of cold glass against her hands. Her entire body hurts, and when she catches her reflection in the kitchen window, she winces. She looks like shit. Her hair is a mess, her clothes disheveled, her eyes lifeless, and her skin sickly pale, and as she stares at her reflection, the man’s words repeat in her head.

**“Take better care a yourself.”**

She’s tempted to ignore the command out of spite since the idiot literally **sucked her blood** but one last glance at her reflection shatters that idea completely. He’s not completely wrong about her not taking care of herself, and she sighs defeatedly as she pushes herself away from the counter and digs out the ingredients to make some pasta.

Since she’d gotten so used to not eating, it takes her a while to finish the bowl of pasta, but when she’s done, she feels a bit better. She washes up the bowl and puts it away before heading back to her room. She flops down on her bed. The exhaustion hits as soon as she lays down, and she pulls the covers over her body, falling asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.


	4. Whether You Like It or Not

When she wakes up the next morning, she feels like she’s halfway in the grave. Her body aches, and she winces as she sits up. She pulls herself out of bed, tripping on the blanket as she goes. She finally manages to stumble stiffly towards the bathroom, swearing under her breath when she sees her reflection. Her hair was sticking up in every direction, splotches of dried blood littering her skin. She had finger shaped bruises along her upper arms, turning sickly green as they began to fade, but she scowls angrily at the large purply brown bruise spreading from the place where her neck met her shoulder all the way up to the middle of her neck. The punctures in her skin looked even worse than they felt. It looked as if an animal had bitten a chunk out of her neck, and the sight made her want to gag.

~

By the time she got to work, she was already thirty minutes late, and she apologized profusely for making her coworkers wait. Most of them brushed it off, saying that it was okay, while Clara flashed her a worried glance before following the others into the building.

Despite the pain, she worked just as hard as always. She refused to let the others down. It wasn’t until she tried to lift a box of books that it really hit. Pain hit her full blast, ripping through her like knives tearing into her body. She leaned heavily on the box to steady herself as she crouched there. Her head fell forward as she tried to focus on her breathing.

Deep breaths, Madison.

“Madison?” She heard Clara call as she rounded the corner and found her.

She bolted up in surprise, but she regretted the sudden move almost immediately as she cried out in pain, nearly falling back to the ground. Clara rushed towards her, supporting as much of her weight as she could.

“Are you okay?! What happened?!” She asked frantically, and Madison shook her head stubbornly, ready to say that she was fine, but another voice broke in before her.

“I can take her home.”

Her head snapped up at the infuriatingly familiar Irish accent. The man from last night stood a few feet away, leaning casually against the wall, hands shoved into the pockets of his black coat.

“We’re friends.” He continued at Clara’s confused expression, casually strolling over to them.

“No we aren’t.” Madison cut in dryly, glaring furiously at him.

His eyes met hers and he smiled, but his eyes flashed dangerously. She saw his hand reach for Clara, who wasn’t paying attention, and she quickly shrugged her off, stepping in front of her defensively. “Fine.” She hissed, only loud enough for him to hear. She turned to Clara, offering her a reassuring smile as she told her that she’d just head home, internally cursing herself for lying to her only friend.

Clara glanced between the two then nodded slowly. “Okay, just be careful..”

Madison didn’t get the chance to respond before the man was pulling her towards the door. Once they were outside, she snatched her arm out of his grip, stomping past him and towards her car. She unlocked the doors, but as soon as she blinked, he was opening the driver’s side door.

“Go away!” She snapped, and he glanced at her, rolling his eyes.

“‘m takin’ you somewhere.”

“Over my dead body.” She spat, and he scowled at her.

“I can arrange that.” He growled threateningly, but she simply crossed her arms over her chest, silently refusing to go with him. His eyes darkened sinisterly, and in a blur, he was in front of her, clamping a hand over her mouth as he grabbed her. She struggled and kicked, but he dragged her towards the car, practically throwing her into the passengers seat. She tried to open the door, but he was quick to lock it. She made a break for the other door, but he was already there, sliding into the driver’s seat with a sick grin in her direction. “As I was sayin’ I’m takin’ you with me to visit some friends a mine.”

~

She didn’t say a single word the entire drive, choosing to simmer in her anger instead.

They arrived at a large house that felt more like a mansion than a house. It was a huge Victorian style house, surrounded on all sides by a tall, black gate. The man pulled out a phone, sending a quick message, and a minute later, the gate opened. He drove through, parking in the large driveway beside several other cars. He got out, casting a glance at her when she didn’t move. It was a look that told her that he would have no problem dragging her inside if he had to. The gate behind them had already closed. She was going in one way or another, whether she liked it or not, so she got out, slamming the door shut behind her.

He pushed the front door open, not caring when it harshly hit the wall. He strolled in confidently, and she rolled her eyes as she followed after him, shutting the door that he’d left ajar. The entryway was huge, with two huge staircases that led up to the landing above. She assumed that the bedrooms were up there. To the right was a kitchen, and to the left was what looked like a living room. She followed him into the living area, and her eyes went wide as she looked around. Damn, the one room was the size of her entire cabin. There were three huge couches, facing a large TV

“‘m home motherfuckers!” He called loudly, despite the fact that the group he was talking to was less than five feet away. They were all sitting together on the couches. There were three men and three women that all turned to look at the man before their eyes fell on her. They all stood up, rounding the couches to stand beside the man that brought her here.

Meanwhile, she stood by the entrance to the room, as far away as she could get.

“Who’s your friend, Seán?” One of the men asked.

He was the same height as the man, Seán, maybe a little taller, with black hair and dark brown eyes. He was tan and well built, and had his arm around a shorter woman, who was smiling warmly at her. She had medium length, dark brown hair and warm brown eyes.

“That’s the human I was tellin’ you about.” Seán motioned to her dismissively, and she rolled her eyes, leaning heavily on the doorframe as a particularly bad pain raked down her spine. She glanced out the window, feeling dizzy as she tried to piece together her scattered thoughts. Outside the window, she could see what looked to be a rose bush, the once beautiful blooms beginning to wilt and die, and she smiled bitterly as she realized how much that felt like her life. She felt as if she was slipping in and out of consciousness, her body there but her mind somewhere she couldn’t seem to grasp.

“Hey! What’s your name?!” Seán’s voice broke harshly through her thoughts, and she turned back to the group sluggishly. She opened her mouth but no words came out. Her mind couldn’t put together the words. She swallowed thickly, her vision swimming, suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder. A soft, comforting touch that brought her back to her surroundings. The woman that’d been smiling at her was standing beside her.

What’s your name?” She asked softly, and Madison stared dumbly at her. She still felt disoriented but not as strongly as before. “My, uh, my name? Oh! My name it, um, it’s Madison.” She stumbled over the words, finally managing to get them out.

“I’m Amy. See that guy over there?”

Madison turned her head to face the others. Amy was pointing at the man from before, and she nodded. “That’s my boyfriend, Mark. Those two are Bob and his wife Mandy, and beside them, are Wade and his wife, Molly. The guy that brought you here is named Seán, but we call him Jack.”

She nodded absently, doing her best to put their names with their faces.

“She’s hurt.” Mark spoke up matter-of-factly, and Jack frowned.

“If she hadn’t-a tried to run, she’da been fine.” He grumbled, and she raised her head to scowl at him.

“So you just expected me to sit there and take it while you fucking **drank my blood**?!” She spat angrily.

“That woulda been nice!” He shot back, closing the space between them until he was standing right in front of her.

“You’re an idiot.” She hissed, and he growled, grabbing the ends of her scarf and pulling until it was like a noose around her neck.

“I could fuckin’ **kill** you!” He threatened, pressing her against the wall as he pulled it even tighter.

“Go ahead then! Do it!” She challenged, eyes glowing with fury.

“Pathetic human!” He snarled, letting go with a huff, and she kicked him in the nuts as hard as she could. She was tired of his shit.

He cried out in pain, stumbling backwards before falling to his knees. Bob and Wade openly snorted, and she could hear the others laughing too. 

“Now who’s the dramatic one.” She spat venomously, picking up her keys that he’d dropped before turning to the others. “That gate outside. Can you open it?”

They were all watching in amusement, and she watched as Mark dug a small remote out of his pocket. He pushed a button, and she heard the metallic scrape of the gate opening. She straightened up with a bit of difficulty and offered them a weak smile. “Thank you”

With that, she stumbled out of the room and out the door. She could hear Jack swearing angrily, but none of them followed her.

~

By the time she got back to her home, she was almost crying from the pain. She paused in the living room, briefly wondering if she should eat first, but her stomach churned nauseously at the thought, so she bypassed the kitchen, heading straight to her room. She collapsed onto her bed, praying weakly that this would all be over when she woke up.

She was half asleep when she felt a tug on her foot. She grumbled to herself, realizing she’d forgotten to take off her shoes. One was already gone. She must’ve kicked it off in her sleep. She shifted awkwardly, finally managing to kick the other one off. She buried her face further into the pillow, closing her eyes as she drifted slowly back into half consciousness. She thought she heard footsteps, but her eyes were too heavy to open, so she wrote it off as her brain playing tricks on her. She’s exhausted and in pain, so it’s understandable she’d be hearing things. She drifted off to the feeling of warmth slowly engulfing her cold body.


	5. Smile

She woke up to sunlight spilling into her room, and she was less than thrilled that her back still hurt. It wasn’t as bad as yesterday. It still wasn’t great, but she could manage with it. She sat up, frowning when she saw a blanket draped over her. She swore this blanket was on the couch when she went to bed. She shrugged it off. She probably just left it in here and forgot about it. She was scratching at her neck when her fingers grazed over something soft. She went to the bathroom, quietly examining her reflection in the mirror. Her frown only deepened when she noticed that her neck had been bandaged carefully.

How di-?

A crash from the kitchen startled her out of her thoughts. She raced back to her bed, grabbed her bat, and moved out into the hallway. She held the end of the bat with both hands, keeping it perched on her shoulder, ready to swing if need be. She crept towards the kitchen, peering into the room.

There was a man fumbling around in her kitchen, opening cabinets frantically in his search of whatever he was looking for. She snuck up behind him slowly, watching as he triumphantly grabbed a cup from the cabinet. She got ready to swing just as the man turned around. It was Jack, and she scowled, dropping the bat to her side, already aware that it would do no good against him.

“Uck, it’s you.” She grumbled, and he scowled back at her.

“Don’t sound so excited.” He grumbled sarcastically, and she rolled her eyes. “What’s with you an’ that fuckin’ bat?”

“What do you want?” She asked shortly. She needed him to get out.

“‘m takin’ you back to the place we went yesterday.”

“Like hell you are. I have work.” She snapped, turning away from him.

“You can barely walk!” He retorted, and she whirled on him.

“And whose fault is that!” She shouted furiously, walking away from him, but he wasn’t done yet. He followed her back to her room, arguing the entire way.

“Fine!” He yelled eventually, and she watched as he dragged a suitcase out of her closet, opening it and throwing it down on the floor.

“Hey!” She yelled as he began to empty her drawers into the suitcase. He closed it with some difficulty before picking it up and grabbing her wrist. He took her keys, dragging her and the suitcase outside. He threw the suitcase in the back and let go of her, giving her the option to get in herself or be thrown in. With one last frustrated huff, she got in the car.

~

They got to the house, and she got out without a word. He’d grabbed her suitcase and was dragging it into the house. At least he wasn’t a complete buffoon. She followed after him begrudgingly, still slightly hunched over from the pain in her shoulders. As soon as she gets in the door, she’s met by the same people from the day before.

“Why am I here?” She blurts out, and Mandy steps up to explain. “You’re in danger.”

“Why?”

“Some enemies of ours are after you.” Molly responded guiltily, and she just stood there, staring blankly ahead.

She’s in danger.

Her head is swirling, thoughts swarming like bees buzzing angrily in her skull.

There are people after her.

She’s not breathing. Her chest is too tight.

It’s happening again.

She can almost feel the claws raking down her back just like they had that day.

She doesn’t want this.

The sadness over her parents’ deaths. The emptiness in her life. The fear from the last few days. It’s all too much. She wants it to stop.

She can’t take it anymore.

Her head is spinning, thoughts screaming at her to get out, to end this.

There’s nothing left here for her.

Everything screeches to a halt as two words fall from her lips, a plea to end her misery.

“Kill me.”

And it’s the person she expects least that answers her.

“No.”

She hears Jack’s voice, feels his hands on her shoulders.

“Stop bein’ stupid.” With that he grabs her wrist and her bag. “Your stayin’ ‘ere” is all he says as he pulls her up the stairs and into a room a little ways down the hall. He drops her bag on the bed and walks towards the door. He pauses beside her, debating with himself before he turns to face her.

“It’ll be okay.” He reassures her awkwardly, and she raises an eyebrow at him.

“You’re less unbearable when you’re nice.” She snarks jokingly, lips quirking up into a half smile.

“Your less ugly when you smile.” He retorts, snorting when she dramatically covers her heart as if he’d shot her. But she’s smiling, and he considers that an improvement from the tears he’d seen before, so he offers her a nod and slips out of the room, leaving her to unpack.


	6. Magic

It was several hours later, and Jack and his friends were huddled around on the couches, discussing their plans. It wasn’t safe for Madison to be alone anymore, and judging by her outburst when she first arrived, she was getting tired of being alone too.

“She’ll stay here where she’s safe.”

“She has a job, Jack. They’ll notice that she’s gone.” Mark reasoned.

“Then she’ll quit.” Jack responded dismissively.

“She doesn’t seem like the type to just give in like that.” Mandy said, glancing between them.

“Oh there’s no way she’ll just agree to that.” Molly laughed, and Amy nodded in agreement.

“Then we’ll make her!”

“Yeah, that went so well last time.” Bob responded sarcastically, and Jack glared at him.

~

Meanwhile, Madison called into work, explaining that something came up and she wouldn’t be coming in today. After assuring her boss that she was okay, she hung up. She unpacked, taking her time as the situation really started to sink in.

Eventually, she made her way down the stairs. Her body still ached, but she felt too restless to sit still. She sluggishly made her way into the kitchen. She happened to glance out the kitchen window into the backyard and saw something that caught her eye, a stack of firewood. She slipped out the back door, making her way over to the pile. She picked up a piece, examining it carefully as she reminisced on the last time she’d done some wood carving. It was oak wood. Normally, she’d go for butternut or basswood, but oak wasn’t bad by any means. Oak wood had a nice pattern, and when polished or painted, it was very beautiful. She dug her pocket knife out of her coat pocket and took a seat on the edge of the back deck. She didn’t really have anything in mind as she began to carve away small pieces of wood. This wasn’t unusual for her. She always thought too much about things, so it was relaxing to have something that she could just do. She straightened the headphones on her head, shifting them so that they blocked her ears from the cold breeze. Jazz music echoed softly in her ears, and she loved it. Jazz was a beautiful genre. It could be soothing and sweet, sad and somber, or swelling with emotion and passion. Jazz was ambiguous. It could be anything and everything, depending on who was playing. The song currently playing was sweet, swelling with a kind of warmth that brought a smile to her face. It reminded her of her parents. They were the kind of people that would give anything to make others smile. They had once spent three days with their neighbor, Mrs. Peterson, because she’d hurt her leg while her husband was out of town for work. The memory made her sad at first, but it was replaced by a sense of comfort as she remembered the way her parents had smiled that day.

Would they be proud of her, of the person she’d become?

She shoved the thought away. She already knew nothing good would come from that question. Instead, she got lost in the music, humming along to the melody.

She stayed like that for a while, relishing the peaceful forest that surrounded her. The trees were tall, some bare while others were lush and green. She’d always liked evergreen trees. She remembered telling her mother once that she wanted to be like those trees, thriving even in harsh conditions.

“Ow.” She grumbled, raising her hand to her face to inspect the small cut on the side of her thumb. It wasn’t too deep, but it was enough to leave a sting. Why were paper cuts and shit so painful anyway?

It was far from being a dangerous cut. Nonetheless, it was bleeding a surprising amount, so she sat the piece of wood and her knife beside her. She raised the edge of her shirt, ready to wipe away the blood when a hand caught her wrist. She jumped, having not even heard the door open. Jack brought her hand up to his mouth, and she felt his fangs brush her hand as his tongue ran over the cut, licking the blood away. She felt her heart trip in her chest when his eyes shifted to meet hers. His once bright eyes glowed as dark green as the evergreen tree she’d just been looking at. Looking into his eyes, right then, was like looking into the depths of a mossy lake.

“You should be more careful, especially in a house full a vampires.” He told her, voice dipping lower than usual.

“I would’ve rather had anyone other than you find me.” She mumbled to herself, nearly flinching when his fangs grazed her skin a bit harder than before.

“My hearing is a lot stronger than yours.”

Just her luck. “Of course it.” She sighed exasperatedly. “Are you almost done?”

He finally let go of her, and she wiped her hand on her pants. At least it wasn’t bleeding anymore. “How did your weird meeting go?” She asked, motioning blindly towards the back door as she picked up her knife and continued working away at the wood.

“We decided that you’ll go back to work tomorrow.” He growled.

She glanced at him curiously. “You don’t sound happy. I figured you’d be excited to get rid of me.”

“I have to go with you.” He grumbled, and she bit her tongue to keep from complaining.

Truth be told, she didn’t really care that she was in trouble. As bad as it sounded, she just didn’t have anything to live for. If she dropped dead right now, hell, no one would even know. No one but the idiot sitting next to her, and she doubted he would care.

Even so, she didn’t want to die the painful, gruesome death they claimed was waiting for her. She’d much rather die from having her blood drained in her sleep than by whatever their “enemies” were.

“Who is after me?”

“A pack of werewolves that live in this forest. We’ve been at war with them for a long time.”

“Why do they want me though? The forest stretches on for miles, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only human that lives in this forest.”

“You’re different.”

She snorted. “Yeah, how’d you come up with that one?” She asked disbelievingly, but when she looked at him, he was watching her seriously.

“You have magic. Very dormant magic, but magic, nonetheless.”

She stared at him for a long moment. “You’re crazy.”

He scowled at her, hissing angrily. “I wish I was!” He quickly composed himself, crossing his arms over his chest. “Magic isn’t common in this town. When I first smelt it, I thought it was impossible, and when the trail led to you, I really thought it was insane. I figured I could at least get a good drink for my trouble, but your blood tasted awful. But, I can taste the magic in it. That’s why I saved your sorry ass. A human with magic is rare these days. The others woulda killed me if I let one die.”

She rolled her eyes, but deep down, she was thankful he hadn’t let her die out in the cold, at least.

“But I’m not the only one that followed you.”

That caught her attention.

“When I left that first night, I smelt wolves. There were two of them. There were prints that circled around your house before disappearing into the forest. When I told the others, they demanded that I find you. This is the only place they can’t get you.”

“Why?”

“If a werewolf sets foot on our territory, we have the right to kill them on site. The same goes for their territory. That was the agreement we made with them.”

“What about when I’m not here? They have full range outside the forest.”

“That’s why one of us will go with you whenever you leave. Your house is on neutral territory. That’s why you’re here instead.”

“What would happen if they caught me?”

His expression hardened. “Depends. They would probably try to get you to use your magic. When they find out it’s dormant, they would likely torture you until it’s brought to the surface as a survival reaction. If they could get you to summon your magic, they would use you as a soldier. If not, you would either be killed or sold to the highest bidder.”

Her stomach churned at the idea of being tortured for something she never even knew she had. He got up suddenly, heading towards the door. “You’re safe out here, but don’t wander too far.”

She nodded absently.

“By the way.”

She looked over her shoulder to find him smirking at her.

“Your blood tastes better. Still sucks, but it’s not terrible.”

She rolled her eyes, returning to her carving. “If it’s that bad, you wouldn’t take every chance to drink it.”

He snorted. “It’s like starving. If someone puts food in front a you, you’re gonna eat it, whether you like it or not.”

She flipped him off without lifting her gaze, and she heard his laughter, followed by the door swinging shut. She held out the small object.

She’d carved a seashell.

She smiled to herself as she ran her thumb over its surface. Maybe she could stop by her house for some paint tomorrow. What color would she paint it anyway? Hmm. Blue? Maybe yellow? No.

She suddenly remembered the color she’d used to paint her living room. The tag on the paint can had read ‘Coral Reef’.

“Perfect.”


	7. Survival Instinct

The next morning, she didn’t feel much better. Her shoulders still ached with every movement. Amy had healed the wound on her neck as best as she could, but it still stung when she touched it. Apparently, vampires usually couldn’t heal others, but Amy was a special case. Though her healing wasn’t strong, Madison appreciated the help. At least it didn’t feel like she was dying anymore.

When her alarm had rung, she’d felt like throwing it through the window, but she had already missed two days of work, and she didn’t plan on letting her boss down any more than she already had. She didn’t even want to think about how much extra work Clara had probably done to fill in for her. She would have to do something to pay the poor woman back.

She rolled out of bed, wincing when something in her back cracked loudly. She straightened up, raising her arms above her head as she stretched the muscles in her body. It hurt like hell, but she almost moaned in relief when whatever had cracked popped back into place. She sighed softly, feeling a bit better and a bit more awake. She had showered last night, so she treaded into the bathroom to get ready. Once she was done, she sifted through the clothes she’d hung up in the closet. She’d have to pick up the rest of her clothes today, but for now, she pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans, a blue and white striped shirt with red around the cuffs and collar, and her black combat boots. She pulled back the top section of her hair so that the top half was pulled into a ponytail while the bottom half brushed her shoulders. She usually didn’t wear much make up, but she tried her best to cover the bruise on her neck, eventually giving up and pulling on a red scarf instead. She straightened it deftly, glancing in the mirror as she did. It looked nice. She gave her reflection a smile of approval and headed towards the door. No sooner than she opened the door, was someone in front of her. Mandy smiled sweetly at her. “Good morning! We restocked the fridge last night, so the others are trying to cook for you. Come on!” Mandy is gone before she can even blink, and she follows after her at a much slower pace.

When she steps into the kitchen, it’s pure chaos. Mark is holding a flaming pan that Wade is beating with a dish towel. Amy and Molly are trying to flip pancakes, seemingly unaware that they’ve turned completely black. Mandy is reprimanding Jack while Bob tries to take back the bowl of pancake batter. Bob pulls on it so hard that when Jack lets go, it flies over his head. She catches the bowl on instinct, grimacing when some of the batter splashes onto her shirt. Damn, she really wanted to wear that. The kitchen goes completely silent, all eyes turning to her. She’s holding her shirt away from her body in an attempt to keep it from dripping onto her pants. Amy rushed forward, dabbing at it with a paper towel that Madison hadn’t even seen her grab.

“It’s okay. I can just change shirts.” She reassures her, but Amy is still frowning, so she pats her on the shoulder and smiles. “I’ll be back.”

Once she’s back in her room, she peels the shirt off, exchanging it for a pastel yellow hoodie. She checks her reflection one last time before heading back downstairs. She can hear Amy yelling before she even reaches the bottom.

“We ripped her out of her home! The least we could do is make her breakfast, and we already ruined that!”

She hesitates at the bottom of the stairs, wondering if she should just leave now, but she knows she’s not supposed to go alone, so she stands there awkwardly, waiting for them to finish.

“Why should we cook for her?! We don’t even eat!” Jack retaliated, and she winced internally.

Were they really going to all that trouble for her?

“Because we agreed to protect her.” Mark cut in calmly.

Maybe she should intervene? She moved cautiously towards the kitchen, still unsure if this was the right decision. She had just stepped inside when Jack spoke up venomously.

“Who cares if she dies?! It’s not like anyone is there to miss her!”

Her heart dropped into her stomach, her mouth suddenly going dry.

She knew that. It was something that was always in the back of her mind, but hearing it voiced out loud was like a knife to the chest.

She must have made some kind of noise because his eyes snapped to hers, quickly followed by everyone else’s. She straightened her shoulders, trying to be tough, but she could feel her hands trembling. “I’m going to work.” She turned away from them, but Molly was quickly calling out to her.

“But you haven’t eaten.”

She paused, her hand on the front door. “I’m not hungry.” She pulled open the door, glancing back at them. She gave them the best smile she could muster. “Thanks though.” She slipped out the door, letting it close quietly behind her.

The blast of cold air felt nice against her burning cheeks. She climbed into her truck, throwing her bag into the passengers seat before digging her headphones out. She connected them to her phone and slid them around her neck. Her radio busted last year, so this was her solution. She cranked up the volume until the beat of the music filled the car. She turned out of the forest and onto the main road, tapping her fingers to the rhythm. It felt good to have something familiar after the roller coaster of the last few days.

~

Work was uneventful, and for once, she appreciated it. She talked to her coworkers, explaining that she’d caught food poisoning and assuring them that she was okay now. She felt bad for lying to them about where she was, but she didn’t really want to end up in a mental ward after telling people she was abducted by vampires.

She ate lunch with Clara, promising to pay for their food as thanks for covering for her. Clara very excitedly agreed to being treated to lunch, though she still told Madison that there was no need to thank her, considering how many shifts Madison had covered for her. They ate burgers, and for a little while, she got to forget the events of the morning as she joked with her friend.

~

Everyone was gone, and she was getting ready to lock up when someone stopped her.

It was a young man. He had dark purple hair that was styled into a sort of quiff. His skin was tan, and his eyes were dark, almost black. He had a large tattoo on each of his upper arms. Two thick black bands wrapped all the way around each arm. The two bands were separated by strange symbols that seemed vaguely familiar, as if she’d seen it somewhere before. When she met his eyes, surprise rippled across his face.

“Can I help you?” She asked cautiously. He was still a stranger, after all.

He stared at her for a long moment before her words seemed to register to him.

“Oh, I’m, uh, I’m looking for..directions.” His voice was deep. It rumbled from his chest.

She turned to face him completely. “What are you looking for?”

He seemed dazed as he watched her. “I’m looking for..” He paused, swallowing thickly. “I’m looking for Lewis Avenue.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, eyes glistening with amusement. “You’re already on Lewis Avenue. Are you looking for something specific?”

“Uh..food?” He responded uncertainly. This guy was cute.

She pointed further down the street. “That’s Mr. O’Leary’s restaurant. I really recommend it. I actually just ate there today with a friend of mine.”

“Really?” He asked nervously, earning a reassuring smile from her.

“Yep. It’s super good, and Mr. O’Leary is really nice.” She leaned closer to him like she was whispering a secret, not even noticing the way he stiffened. “If you tell him I sent you, he’ll probably even give you a discount.”

He smiled shyly. “Is that a thing?”

She nodded. “Let’s just say I talk a lot about his food, and he may or may not have gained a lot of new customers.” She grinned mischievously. “If you say you’re a friend of mine, he seriously might give you a discount.”

The man chuckled softly, his laugh rich and deep, and she smiled seeing him relax.

“I’ll try it. Thank you..”

She held her hand out. “Madison.”

He took it, kissing her knuckles softly. She felt heat flare in her cheeks.

“Call me Rian.”

She smiled embarrassedly, and he winked playfully before he headed off in the direction she’d pointed.

She checked that the door was locked and quickly made her way to her car. Once she was inside and the doors were locked, she pressed her forehead against the steering wheel, giving herself a moment to scream internally before she started the car and pulled out onto the highway.

She had forgotten about the gate, so she texted Amy when she got there. A few minutes later, the gate opened with a screech, and she drove through, parking in the place she’d been in that morning. The girls met her at the door, and it really felt strange to have someone welcoming her. It felt like the sleepovers she had when she was young, and the memory made her smile. She was barely up the front steps when their smiles faltered, and they rushed forward, inspecting her for..something?

“Are you guys okay?”

She was startled when Mandy grabbed her hands. “Did you meet anyone new when you were at work?”

She frowned, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. “It’s a library. I meet new people every day.

The three girls shared a look.

“Did anyone stand out?” Molly asked.

She frowned, trying to think back to all the people that came through that day. “No, I can’t think of any-“ She stopped mid-sentence as something flashed through her mind.

“What is it?” Amy asked pensively.

“Actually, there was one guy. He stopped by right as I was leaving. He was looking for directions for somewhere to eat, so I recommended a place.”

The three were still staring at her, and it was starting to make her uncomfortable.

“Um, are you guys..okay?”

They all nodded quickly, a little too quickly, but she didn’t get the chance to question it before Amy was leading her in the front door. She shepherded her towards the stairs. “Why don’t you go change? I’m sure you’re tired!”

“Yeah, bu-“

“Go, go! We’ll make dinner!”

Madison hesitated. Their behavior was strange, but it didn’t seem like they were going to answer her questions, so she made her way up the stairs.

She stepped into her room, closing the door softly behind her. She tried not to think about their weird behavior as she pulled her hoodie over her head, dropping it onto her bed as she kicked off her shoes. She was in the process of pulling her tank top over her head when her door swung open, hitting the wall behind it. It slammed shut just as quickly, and she heard the latch click as the door was locked. She quickly pushed her shirt back down as she spun to face the intruder. Jack was glaring at her almost sinisterly.

“What?”

He stalked towards her, eyes flashing between bright blue and that deep green. She backed up, but she didn’t make it far before she felt the cold wall against her back.

“Jack..” She started cautiously, but his only response was a snarl as he grabbed her. One hand gripped her waist while the other held her shoulder, keeping it pinned against the wall.

“You smell like those filthy mutts.” He hissed, baring his fangs.

“But I didn’t..” Rian flashed through her mind. “He was a werewolf?!”

Jack growled, as if the word itself enraged him.

“Why were you near one of them?” His words were clipped, cold.

“It’s not like I can tell if they’re werewolves!” She snapped defensively.

“Why were you with one in the first place?!”

“Because I didn’t know!”

“So you just tried shacking up with a random guy?!”

Anger boiled hot in her veins, and she felt something akin to electricity sear through her body as she shoved him away. He flew backwards, landing on his back across the room with a loud thump. She leaned heavily against the wall as her legs threatened to give out. “...Get out.”

He stumbled to his feet, disappearing out the door without another word. Once it closed, she quickly scrambled to lock it. Her knees buckled just as the lock clicked into place, and she sank heavily to the ground. It was only then that she realized she was shaking badly, the fear from earlier slowly dissolving, leaving her feeling exhausted. She stared down at her hands, remembering the shockwave she felt when she pushed him. Was that her magic?

She got up shakily, holding onto the wall as the world tilted in front of her. She had barely made it to her bed when everything went black.


	8. It Was You

When she woke up again, she was starting to wonder if the ache in her body would ever disappear. This was the second time she’d blacked out in the last week. She slept and ate, yet she never felt better.

She dragged herself out of bed, trying to ignore the pounding headache that was slowly forming. She glanced in the mirror and immediately regretted it. She looked like shit. Her skin was pale, except for her flushed cheeks. She pressed her hand to one of them and frowned. Despite how hot her skin was, she was shivering.

She was sick.

The realization made her want to scream. Of course this would happen. Her luck couldn’t get much worse at this point.

She got dressed, doing her best to hide her pale skin with make up. When she was done, she nodded firmly. It wasn’t perfect, but it would pass long enough for her to get through the day. She grabbed her bag, took a deep breath, and opened her door, quickly rushing down the stairs. She heard Mark call her name, but she didn’t stop. “Sorry, I’m late!” She called, making a break for the door, but she barely made it a few feet before she crashed into someone.

A pair of hands caught her upper arms, steadying her.

“I’m going with you.”

Her heart stopped. She raised her head slowly, already knowing who she would find but dreading it, nonetheless.

This was gonna be a long day.

~

The drive to work was completely still, the only sound being the engine whirring, and by the time they got there, she was bolting out of the car, desperate to escape the unbearable silence. The bustle of the town filled her ears, and her lips quirked into a half-smile. The cold air felt good against her burning skin, and she took her time moving towards the building, savoring it for as long as she could.

Jack followed her quietly, and when they stepped inside, he quickly broke away, heading up the stairs. The library was pretty big and consisted of a large open area that made up the main floor and two sets of stairs on either side that led up to the large loft-like area. That’s where the tables and stuff were, and she watched Jack sit down at one. He pulled out his phone, and she shook her head before making her way to the front desk. Today was one of the easier days. She was set to work at the front desk, which was a hard job, but it was one where she wouldn’t have to move around too much at least. The hardest part was the computer. When someone bought or checked out a book, she had to log it in the computer. It was old and finicky, sometimes running smoothly and other times running about as well as an elephant on ice. If it didn’t work, she would have to log it manually, which is probably the worst part because it involves dragging out a thirty pound storage bin filled with alphabetical folders. She would have to sift through them until she found the book listed and manually fill out the form. She would then have to make a memo so that the owner could log it into the computer when it was working again. What was the point of all of that if she could just write the memo? Your guess was as good as hers because she had no idea. She remembered asking the owner, Mrs. Sweet, yes, that’s actually her name, about it, but the little old woman had just laughed and said “That’s how they did it back in my day!”

Lately, the computer had been working really well, so of course, today would be the day it stopped working.

She had taken the money and given the woman the book and was now in the process of searching the storage closet for that stupid bin.

Normally, she would wait, but it was a slow day, so she’d just asked Clara to keep an eye on the counter and call her if anyone came.

“There it is!” She smiled victoriously as she pulled at the box. She underestimated how far up it was, considering how heavy it was. She also counted the fact that she could usually lift it herself, instead of considering the fact that she wasn’t exactly in top shape right now. So, when she slid her arms under the bin and pulled it off the shelf, her whole body lurched forward under its weight. She caught it between her body and the shelf, trying to readjust her grip, when the box was completely lifted out of her arms. It was placed on the ground beside her, and when the person straightened up, she was met by a familiar face.

“Rian?”

He seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. He broke out into a smile. “Madison, nice to see you again.”

She returned his smile. “Thanks for the help. Normally, I can lift it myself, but I’m a bit under the weather today.” She admitted sheepishly.

He leaned closer, gazing very intently at her. “You don’t look so good...”

She didn’t feel too peachy either, but thanks for pointing it out. She could feel sweat gathering at her hairline, and she felt heat boiling under her skin. Was it this hot when she came in here?

She reached to take off her scarf only to remember the bruise on her neck. It was faded for the most part but still noticeable. She pretended to readjust the ends of her scarf, offering him the best smile she could muster. “Yeah, I jus-“

“What are you doing with her?”

Oh great.

“Jack-“

“Why is that any of your concern?” Rian asked mockingly, and she stared at him in shock. The sudden change in his demeanor caught her off guard.

“She’s my human!”

Are her hands shaking? She held them out, watching as they trembled.

“You haven’t marked her! She’s free game!”

She felt a bead of sweat run down her temple.

“She’s not a game, and she’s mine!”

Her knees felt weak.

“If she’s your human, why weren’t you here to help when she nearly got crushed by that bin?!”

She felt prickling under her skin. It was like pins and needles all through her body.

“She wandered off!”

She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, could feel it thumping in her head.

“You should’ve been paying attention!”

Her ears were ringing. Suddenly, the world tilted up to meet her, and she briefly felt an arm around her waist before everything faded into nothing.

~

When she wakes up, it feels like here head has been stuffed full of rocks. Every movement sends them clanking heavily against her skull. She groans loudly as she tries to sit up, and someone is pushing her back down before she can make it.

“Careful!” She recognizes Clara’s voice immediately, and she feels some of the tension leave her body.

“..What happened?”

“You passed out in the storage room, and these two men brought you to me.”

Two men?

She finally managed to force her eyes open, gripping the back of the couch as she pulled herself up, shifting until she’s sitting regularly. Her head is still swimming, but even through the haze, she can see Jack and Rian glaring at each other from opposite sides of the coffee table.

“You should really go home and get some rest.” Clara advised, worry twisting her features.

“I’ll go.” “I’ll take her.”

The two immediate responses earn a surprised glance from Clara, who turns to her nervously while they glare at each other.

“I don’t know either of them very well, so I’ll let you pick.” She whispers softly, and Madison feels a bit moved by her thoughtfulness.

She dizzily holds out her hand. “Hey leprechaun, help me up.” She can hear him cursing her under his breath, but a large hand encases hers anyway.

He pulls her up easily, and in a second, she’s being lifted off the ground as if she weighs nothing. She doesn’t bother arguing, too tired to care how she gets home as long as she gets there.

“Thanks for the help.” He nods to Clara, shoots one last glare at Rian, and stalks out the door.

Despite the anger radiating from him, he’s surprisingly careful when he puts her in the passengers seat. He drives without a word, and she’s close to falling asleep when she’s being lifted up again. She’s only half-conscious, so she hears the worried remarks as Jack carries her inside, but she can’t make her mouth move to answer.

“She’s sick.” is all Jack says as he carries her up the stairs.

~

This time, when she wakes up, she doesn’t feel quite as bad. There’s a wet rag on her forehead and she lifts it off so she can roll onto her side. She holds it against her cheek for a few seconds before crawling out of bed. She’s exhausted, but she can’t stand how sweaty and gross she feels.

She’s still wearing the clothes she had on earlier, though her scarf, jacket, and shoes have been removed, and she can see them setting on a chair nearby. She trudges into the bathroom, turning the tap on so the water can get warm while she gets undressed. The bruise on her neck is almost gone, and she smiles at the thought of not having to wear any scarves for a while. She pauses for a second, turning her back to the mirror. She pulls her shirt over her head and looks over her shoulder. Three long, white scars stretch across her shoulder blades, a constant reminder of that nightmarish day at that lake.

What attacked her that day?

The harder she tries to remember, the more her head pounds, so she turns away from her reflection, quickly shedding the rest of her clothes.

Stepping into the hot water feels good, but sinking her entire body into it is like heaven. She leans back, looking out the window beside the bathtub. She can see the snow white clouds dotting the bright blue sky. It really is a beautiful day outside, and it brings a serene kind of smile to her face.

She stays like that until the water begins to lose its warmth, forcing her to get out. Once she’s out and the water is drained, she realizes something she didn’t before. She was so dead set on taking a bath that she didn’t think to grab a change of clothes.

She wasn’t exactly surprised by her forgetfulness. At this point, she was almost used to it.

Was it a bad habit? Yes.

Was it inconvenient for her and literally everyone else? Yes.

Was it a physical projection of her unstable mental condition? Probably.

Was she going to stop it? Eventually.

Would that day be today? Haha. No.

She wrapped a large towel around her body and opened the door. She almost leapt out of her skin when she found Jack at the table near the window. “What are you doing in here?”

He raised his head, eyes shifting from his phone screen to her. She was too busy sifting through her dresser drawers to notice the way his eyes trailed over her body.

“What happened to your back?”

She didn’t have time to turn away before cold fingers were tracing one of the long scars.

“These scars are from a werewolf.”

Everything seemed to grind to a halt as a scream rippled through her memory.

~

_A little girl wandered through the snow, searching the trees with a helpless look. “Mom?!...Dad?!...Where are you?!” She cried, screaming when a howl echoed through the night._

_“Mom! Dad! Anybody!”_

_“They can’t hear you, little girl, but you know who can?” The voice was smooth, echoing from every direction, and even as a child, it had given her goosebumps._

_“Who?” She sniffled, turning in circles as she tried to find the source of the voice._

_“Me.” The words were whispered right in her ear before pain seared through her back. She could feel each claw as it raked down her spine. She let out a blood curdling scream, taking off through the forest as fast as she could._

_She raced through the forest, adrenaline pumping in her veins like liquid fire, pushing her to go faster. She was gasping for air, tears mixing with the soil smeared against her face. Terror stabs at her heart like a recently sharpened knife._

_The trees are getting thicker. She can’t breathe. Her chest tightens dangerously. She smells blood, tastes copper on her tongue, but she can’t stop. It’s getting closer, and her legs scream when she forces herself to speed up. The trees break apart, and suddenly she’s standing in front of an iced over lake. The ice is thick and covered in a thin layer of snow, but she’s scared to move. Fear grips her insides, but she takes off across the ice. It’s coming, and she needs to get away. She feels it shaking, sees the cracks forming under her feet, but she can’t stop. It’s too late to go back. She can see the other side, it’s so close. Then she sees it. There’s a man standing on the other side. A silent scream rips from her raw throat, and she’s so close._

_She sees sky blue amidst a sea of white before she’s plunged into the water. Cold stabs her skin like needles and all she sees is red. Bloodstained ice and crimson snow trap her in the scarlet sea. She screams and it fills her mouth. Copper and the smell of iron. It burns her eyes and forces itself down her throat, filling her lungs. It spills from her eyes and mouth as she kicks and bashes the ice with her hands._

_Then the ice breaks from above, and there are hands reaching for her. They take her arms, and she’s being dragged up to the surface. She sees blue._

_Blue eyes. Blue sky. It’s all blue._

_Suddenly, the face comes into focus._

~

“...It was you.”

“Huh?”

She whirls to face him, something sparking to life in her eyes. “That day at the lake! It was you that saved me!”

He’s still staring at her in confusion, so she rushes over to her suitcase, pulling out a small picture. It was taken that same day, just before she was attacked. Her parents had given it to her as a gift when she was released from the hospital. She holds out the photo to him. In it, a younger version of herself is standing between her parents.

He takes the photo from her hand, inspecting it carefully. She sees confusion then surprise flash across his face.

“It was you?”

She nodded. “It was me.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“I remembered being attacked and falling into the lake, but I didn’t remember anything that happened before or after it on that day. I just now remembered when you mentioned that the scars were from werewolf claws.” She explained, suddenly realizing that she’s still only wearing a towel. “Uh, let me get dressed..”. She gathered her clothes and headed back to the bathroom.

Behind her, he smirked. “Good to know I was saving your ass even back then.”

She snorted, flipping him off playfully before closing the bathroom door.


	9. I Knew You Cared

After her revelation, things did change between them. She tried to be nicer to him, maybe out of a sense of debt? She’s not quite sure. Don’t misunderstand though. She was still quick to put him in his place when he was being an ass, but she was at least trying to make an effort. She didn’t hate him, not by a long shot. She just didn’t exactly like him either. She had mixed feelings when it came to Jack.

She did learn that when he wasn’t being an ass to her, he could actually be a nice guy.

~

Jack started keeping a closer eye on her after that. He did give her space, but she would often catch glimpses of him in the corner of her eye as she worked.

“I think he likes you.” Clara whispered to her as they restocked a section of books that had just sold out.

She laughed. “No way.”

“Then why is he always here?”Clara asked suggestively.

She bit her tongue to keep from saying, “He doesn’t have a choice.”

“Maybe he just likes to read.” She responded instead. She could practically feel Clara rolling her eyes at her, but she ignored it.

“Whatever you say. What about that other guy?”

She frowned. “What other guy?”

“The other guy that was there when you were sick. The one with the purple hair.”

“Oh, him. His name is Rian.” She really tried to keep the wariness out of her voice, but from the way Clara frowned at her, she wasn’t doing a very good job.

“What’s wrong? Do you not like him?”

She shook her head. She really didn’t want to blame Rian for something that he had nothing to do with, but she couldn’t stop the anxiety from swelling in her chest when she thought of him.

“He just reminds me of something that happened a long time ago.”

“Bad something?”

She nodded, and she could tell Clara wanted to ask more, but she must’ve seen something in her face because she quickly closed her mouth, offering her a smile instead.

“I hope it all works out.”

Madison smiled softly. “Thanks, Clara.”

Clara bumped their shoulders together with a grin. “Come on. These books won’t stack themselves.”

She shook her head and followed her to get the next box.

~

She was in the process of sorting boxes in the storage room when Jack appeared at her side. She just turned around, and he was there, and she almost tripped over a box when she jumped. “Jeez, don’t do that!”

He laughed loudly, obviously amused by her reaction, and she rolled her eyes before going back to what she was doing. She picked one of the boxes of books that had just been shipped in. She had been told to arrange the boxes on the shelves in alphabetical order so they could be put in their proper place tomorrow. She’d just finished the S section, so she was on to T. She lifted one of the boxes and placed it on the shelf before starting to sift through the remaining boxes. “That’s a U, a W, a Y..There it is!” She smiled as she picked up the box. It was larger than the last one, and she grunted from the weight as she lifted it. She nearly wacked herself in the face when the box suddenly disappeared from her arms. She watched in amazement as Jack walked over and placed the box on the shelf as if it weighed nothing. She knew vampires were stronger than humans, but man, she didn’t know they were that strong.

“I didn’t know you were that strong.”

He smirked. “I could say the same for you. You look weaker than you are.”

She scowled, smacking him on the back as she passed him. “Shut up.”

He laughed and made plenty of snide remarks, but she chose not to complain too much because he was helping her at least.

~

She was chopping vegetables when Amy approached her. “Hey, we have to leave the house for a little while, so don’t go anywhere. You’re welcome to sit outside, but stay within the gate.”

“Where are you guys going?”

“Hunting.” Mark told her from the kitchen doorway.

Oh. She hadn’t even thought about the fact that they still needed blood to survive. Bob had mentioned to her before that they fed on animals instead of humans. “Okay.”

“If you need us, call.” Mandy added with a smile.

She nodded, returning it with a smile of her own. “I will. Be careful.”

They raised their eyebrows at her, and she smiled sheepishly, tugging at the end of her hair. “Sorry, force of habit. I used to say that to my parents whenever they left home.”

Molly patted her on the back reassuringly. “You be careful too.”

“I will.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, they were gone, and she shook her head as she got back to cooking.

~

After she ate, she stepped outside for some fresh air. She had a habit of thinking too much, especially at night when the worries of the day faded and left her with nothing but silence. If only her mind were that silent.

She couldn’t help wondering how long she would be staying here. As crazy as it sounded, she’d come to like the little group of vampires, but she didn’t want them wasting their time, watching over her. She needed to learn to protect herself, and there was only one way she could think of to do that.

She walked further out into the backyard, thinking back on the day she’d had that fight with Jack, that tingling under her skin, her magic. She’d never tried to summon it. When Jack said it was dormant, she’d assumed she wouldn’t be able to, but since that day, she’d been wondering if it was really possible for her to control it.

She remembered Jack saying something about it coming out as a survival instinct, so she closed her eyes and thought back to that day. The memory was still so vivid, as if it were still happening. The lake, the blood, the water, she remembered it all. She could almost feel the claws raking down her back, lighting her skin on fire. She could feel the terror, the pain.

She felt like she was struck by lightning, and all she saw was light. She stumbled blindly in a random direction, collapsing heavily under a tree. She blinked hard, and when her vision cleared, she saw something she wasn’t expecting. The snow was a foot deep, but all the snow around her was gone. The grass was black, tendrils of smoke curling lazily from the burnt ground. She stared around her in disbelief. Did she really do that?

She tried to get up, but her knees gave out before she could even get off the ground. Well, looks like she’s staying here for a while.

She tilted her head back and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful night. The stars were glowing brightly, twinkling lights in a river of black. She could just barely see the clouds, blotches of navy blue just barely visible in the dark sky. Nights like this made her feel happy to be alive, happy to be able to sit here looking at something so wonderful.

“You used your magic.”

She recognized the Irish accent immediately. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

“You shouldn’t do that when no one is here.”

Even if she couldn’t see him, she could hear the irritation in his voice.

“It reeks of magic, and the wolves can track it. If they had decided to attack you, no one would’ve been here to help you.” He was in front of her before she could blink. “People who can control their magic can manage how much they use at one time so it’s not noticeable to other creatures, but people like you, who are new to it, use all their magic at one time. If you had been attacked, you wouldn’t’ve had any way to protect yourself. Your ability to use magic under extreme circumstances was the only reason we left you alone in the first place.”

She felt like a child being scolded, and honestly, she deserved it. He was right. She was so focused on not being a burden that she didn’t even think about the consequences.

“You’re right..I’m sorry..”

He sighed deeply. “Your parents shoulda named you trouble.”

Despite the words, he slid an arm under her legs and lifted her up easily.

“Practicing your magic isn’t a bad thing. Just don’t do it when none of us are around. Besides, it’s easier to train when you have people around you that can teach you.”

She cracked a smile. “Are you offering to train me?”

He rolled his eyes. “Are you actually gonna listen?”

She laughed, a devious kind of smile making its way across her face. “We’ll see.”


	10. The Line Between Trust and Fear

“Ready?” Jack asked.

They were standing across from each other in the backyard, a few yards separating them.

“This isn’t a fair fight.” She grumbled.

“How is it not fair?”

“You’re a vampire!” She said incredulously.

“And you have magic!” He retorted.

“You know my magic isn’t that good yet! Amy’s only been training me for a week!” She snapped exasperatedly.

“This was Amy’s idea.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve only been training for a week. That’s why you’re sparring with me.” He told her very matter-of-factly.

She frowned. “I don’t get it.”

“You’re already a lot stronger than Amy. If you spar with her at your level, you run the risk of seriously hurting her.

“..Fine. What do I do now?”

“Fight.” In a flash, he was in front of her, knocking her to the ground.

She tried to summon her magic, but all she felt was a tingle in her fingertips before it fizzled out. She tried again only to receive the same result. “I can’t do it.”

“Did you forget what I told you already?”

When all he received in response was a confused frown, he sighed, taking her wrist. They were almost nose to nose when he pulled her to her feet.

“Your magic is like a survival instinct. When you’re in danger it comes out naturally, but you have to trust it to use it.”

Within seconds, she was being spun around, her back pressed against his chest. His arms wound around her waist, and she was suddenly struck by the memory of the night they met, the night he bit her. She felt that familiar electricity bubbling under her skin.

“You have to breathe. You control your magic. Don’t let it control you.” The words were spoken right next to her ear, and she struggled to take a deep breath, the buzzing under her skin calming ever so slightly. She kept breathing until the lightning lowered to a steady buzz.

“Good. Now hold onto that.” Jack let go of her, and she instinctively turned to face him. She felt grounded and steady, a stark contrast from the frenzied shock she’d been in just a few minutes ago.

“Ready?” He asked challengingly.

She grinned wickedly, hooking her thumbs through her belt loops as she met his eyes. “Let’s do it.”

He rushed at her, and the strangest thing happened. It felt like time had slowed. She could see him, see every little movement of his body. The world flared back to life, and she ducked, narrowly dodging his attack. She raised her head to meet his surprised stare with a smirk. “Surprised?”

He quickly schooled his expression into his usual frown. “Yeah right.”

The first time he tackled her, he just rammed into her hard enough to knock her down. This time, he full out lunged at her. He moved to pin her hands down, but she pressed both hands against his chest and pushed. He flew backwards, and she was pretty sure he would’ve landed on his ass instead of his feet if it weren’t for his reflexes.

“Not bad.” He chuckled, his smile turning devious. “But I won’t go easy on you anymore.”

She was already on her feet again with a smile of her own. “Go for it.”

In a flash, he was gone, and she narrowed her eyes, turning in circles as she searched for him. “I never took you for a hider.” She called teasingly.

A weight crashed into her back, sending her careening forward. She landed heavily on the ground, a knee on her back keeping her there. She tried to push herself up, but two hands landed on her shoulder blades, pushing her back down.

“Who said I was hiding?”

She huffed out a laugh through the grass in her mouth. “Yeah yeah, let me up.”

“Why should I?” He asked, amusement practically dripping from every word.

She tried to turn her head, but when she did, something dug sharply into her cheek. “Why is there broken glass in your yard?” She grumbled.

The weight pinning her down disappeared, and she pushed herself up onto her knees. She leaned back and ran her fingers over her cheek. It stung, and when she pulled her hand away drops of crimson stained her fingers. She could feel it begin to drip down her cheek, splashing onto the ground below; then, all she could see was green, green grass, green trees, and green eyes.

Cold fingers caught her chin, tilting her head to examine the cut. It wasn’t large, but it was deeper than he would like. He leaned forward, swiping his tongue along her cheek until all the blood was gone.

He remembered the day they met. Her blood was so sour then, practically reeking of alcohol. When she’d cut her finger, her blood was better than before, but it was still bitter from lack of self-care. Now, she was taking care of herself. She was eating three meals a day, sleeping like she was supposed to, and keeping her spirits up. Now, her blood was sweet. Intoxicatingly sweet. He could taste her magic, steady and warm inside her.

His fangs brushed her skin, but she didn’t flinch like she had the other times. She was still, even when his hand left her chin, coming to rest in the curve of her neck instead. He could feel her heartbeat under his thumb, beating a steady rhythm under her skin. She wasn’t afraid, and that confused him. She should be terrified. He could bite her right now, drain all the blood from her body if he wanted to, but she wasn’t even fighting him.

“You should be scared.” He murmured against her skin, licking up another drop of blood.

“I trust you.”

He paused. “You trust me? Why?”

She was quiet for a second. “I don’t know. I just do.”

Though he couldn’t see it from this angle, he felt her shrug.

“You shouldn’t trust me.”

“Mm, maybe so.” She hummed softly. “But isn’t that my decision?”

Before he could answer, he heard someone call their names. They were a good distance away from the house, but he could still recognize Wade’s voice with his superhuman hearing.

“We’re coming!” Madison called, fairly certain that Wade would hear her despite the distance.

She stood up and held her hand out to him. “Come on, loser.” She giggled.

He rolled his eyes and took her hand, letting her pull him up. “I’ll race ya!” He called, taking off before she could argue.

In the distance, he could hear her laughter followed by a loud exclamation of “Cheater!”

~

You know, Madison didn’t really love shopping, but the girls had been so excited that she found herself saying yes before she could stop herself.

Joking around with them and trying on different outfits actually turned out to be a lot of fun.

You know what’s not fun?

Standing in the parking lot of a shopping mall with a werewolf in front of her, saying something about her being his mate.

She didn’t have time to think about Rian’s declaration before she was being dragged back to her car, and she was too confused to argue. Once they were back on the road she cast a confused frown at Amy, who was sitting in the passenger’s seat. “What the hell was that about?”

“Apparently you’re his mate.”

She scowled at her. “Yeah, I gathered that much.” She grumbled scathingly. “What’s the big deal? Can’t he just find another mate?”

She saw Molly and Mandy share a look in her rear view mirror.

“Werewolves only have one mate.” Molly admitted.

“If their mate dies or they don’t love them back, they don’t get a second chance.” Mandy explained.

“The ones that don’t have a mate or lost theirs usually find an unmated partner.” Amy clarified.

She frowned, and the rest of the drive home was completely silent as she thought it over.

~

Jack found her lying on her back in the grass.

Her eyes opened as he approached her, the crunching of leaves signalling his presence. “The stars are bright tonight.” She murmured absently, and he wasn’t quite sure if the words were directed at him or herself. Nonetheless, he sat down beside her and laid back, looking up at the dark sky. She was right. The stars twinkled above their heads. He was used to the glaring city lights, but these lights were pure and natural. He wished he could focus on it, but something was bothering him.

“Are you going to accept being his mate?”

She was quiet for a moment, humming a soft tune that sounded vaguely familiar. He’d heard her humming it before.

“No.”

“Why not?” He asked curiously.

She sighed almost inaudibly. “I don’t want to hate him because of something his species did to me, but I can’t help being wary of him.” She brought her hands up to her face and slid them under her head. “You know, I dated a guy in college that reminds me of him.”

Jack wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but he asked anyway. “What happened?”

“He wanted a pretty face that would agree with everything he said, and that’s not me. Even if it was, I wanted something different.” She admitted.

“What’d you want?”

She smiled wistfully. “I wanted something like my parents had. My dad was a sweet guy that could be a real smartass sometimes, and my mom was an angel, but she was snarky and never hesitated to call him out on his bullshit. They were both great people with big hearts. They loved each other so much, and when they were together, their eyes would light up.”

He turned his head to look at her.She was frowning, a thoughtful look on her face.

“I wanted to have someone like that, someone I could talk back to and laugh with, someone that I could love without being afraid to be myself, but he wasn’t that person for me, so we broke up.”

“I’m sorry..”

She shook her head lightly, her smile returning even brighter than before. “Don’t be. Besides, I finally found someone that could be that person for me.”

He sat up abruptly. “What? Who?”

She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “It’s a secret.”

“Hey, that’s not fair.” He grumbled, feeling more irritated when she just giggled.

“Relax. I’ll tell you eventually anyway.”

He frowned. “Is it someone I know?”

She looked at him for a long moment, a soft smile tugging at her lips. “Yeah, you know him pretty well.”

“Wait, it’s not any of the others, is it?” He asked, motioning in the direction of the house.

She actually snorted at that. “No way! Don’t get me wrong; I care for them but not like that.”

“Then who is it?”

She smirked. “I told you it’s a secret.”

He groaned impatiently and flopped back onto his back. “You’re so annoying sometimes.” He grumbled petulantly.

She kicked his foot with a laugh. “You’re one to talk!”

He huffed indignantly, arms crossed over his chest, completely oblivious to the way her smile softened as she watched him, her eyes shining affectionately.


	11. No Running From the Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Christmas is over, but it took so much longer to finish this than I thought it would. I hope you enjoy it!

“I know they’re going somewhere, but no one actually told me where?”

“Bob and Molly were born vampires. So they take Mandy and Wade and go to visit their families during winter. Mark was turned long before Amy, so his parents are already gone. Amy and her family were only turned around a hundred years ago, so they go together to visit them.” Jack explained as she waved goodbye to their friends.

“A hundred years?” She murmured incredulously. “How old are you guys?”

“Bob and Molly are over three thousand years old. Wade, Mandy and Mark are around two thousand, and Amy is around one hundred and twenty.”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise, and she just blinked at him. “How old are you then?”

I’m one thousand and thirty eight years old.”

She openly gaped at him. “Damn, you’re old.”

He scowled at her. “Shut up! I’m not ancient!” He grumbled sullenly.

She smiled. “Come on, there’s something I wanna do.” She walked past him, heading towards the kitchen. “Or do I need to get you a cane, old man?” She teased, snorting when he shot her a murderous glare.

~

That’s how they ended up trekking through the snowy forest, searching for a Christmas tree. She was excitedly running around, examining every tree while Jack strolled after her. He was more careful, especially since she didn’t know where their territory started or where it ended. Every time she moved too far, he was at her side again, steering her back in the right direction, and she let him. He knew where to go, and she had no intention of getting lost in the forest.

She stopped suddenly and turned to him. “Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“How did the fight between werewolves and vampires start?”

He sighed. He knew she would ask eventually. She was too curious for her own good.

“There was a girl that had been recently turned. She didn’t know anything about being a vampire. She didn’t know about bloodlust.”

“Bloodlust?” She repeated, a confused frown settling on her face.

He nodded. “When vampires haven’t eaten for an extended period of time, their body goes into a frenzy called bloodlust. They’ll attack the first thing they see..whether they want to or not.”

Her frown deepened. “What happened to her?”

“She saw an animal, a wolf to be exact.”

He watched Madison’s eyes widen in shock as she realized where the story was heading.

“It was a werewolf child. She didn’t realize that until after it was over. The kid was hanging by a thread, so she took him to a wizard. The boy lived, though he was physically disabled because she pierced a section of his spine.”

She swallowed thickly. She couldn’t imagine how painful that had been for both of them. “And after that?”

“The wolves never forgave her. They declared war on her and by extension, our people.”

“I feel bad for her..” Madison murmured sadly.

“Don’t be.” He surprised both of them with the venom behind the words. “She went batshit crazy after that. She would find people that were at their lowest, take them in, and befriend them. She would drain their blood, leaving just enough for them to live before leaving them to die painfully as they bled out what was left.”

Her face scrunched up in distaste at the imagery. “That’s awful. Human, vampire, werewolf, whatever it is, no one deserves to die like that.”

“She didn’t care about that. All she cared about was making people suffer.”

“You talk about it like you knew her.” She responded offhandedly.

“Unfortunately, I did.” He grumbled, and she sensed that there was more to that story.

When he noticed her curious stare, he sighed quietly. “I dated her a long time ago. At the time, I thought she was just misunderstood, but the stories about her were true.”

“Why did you break up?”

“She tried to kill me.” Jack responded bluntly, and she choked on her own air when she breathed in too sharply.

“How can you say that so casually?!”

“Because I’m not dead.”

She scowled. “No shit!”

He cracked a smile at the way her nose scrunched up in annoyance, but his smile quickly turned bitter.

“Ironic that I’m judging her when I ended up being no better than her.”

She completely stopped and turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“The night we met, I didn’t plan to bite you. I hadn’t eaten in a while, and I overestimated my self-control. When I saw you, I attacked you, and when I realized what I did, I carried you inside and ran. The only reason I came back was because you were in danger, and because of me, you wouldn’t’ have been able to defend yourself because you were too weak.”

“I thought you hated me.” She murmured.

“When you came here, I thought if I was mean enough to you, you’d leave before I could hurt you again.”

“Jack, it wasn’t your fault.”

He scowled bitterly. “I knew what could happen, but I did it anyway.”

“You were starving. You couldn’t control what happened.”

When he continued to scowl at his feet, she grabbed his wrist, forcing him to look at her. She smiled so softly at him, so warm, and it made his heart ache in his chest. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you forgive me.”

Her smile never faltered. “I do forgive you.”

She shook his head. “Don’t. I don’t deserve it.”

“Isn’t that my decision to make? You can complain, push me away, do whatever you want, but you won’t change my mind.” Her fingers trailed down his wrist until she was holding his hand. “I’ll forgive you as many times as you need, to know I mean it.”

He was about to argue when her eyes widened, and she ran past him.

“We should get this one!” She was pointing up at a fir tree.

“You sure about this one?” He asked, examining the tree. It was thin and sparse. “It doesn’t look all that great?”

“Come on! It’s gonna be beautiful!” She grinned.

He shrugged. “If you insist.”

~

When they got back home, she instructed Jack to set the tree in the foyer for now while she got stuff ready in the kitchen.

“For what?”

She grinned at him. “Cookies!”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “I don’t eat human food.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t.” She retorted cheekily as she headed into the kitchen.

It didn’t take her too long to gather all the ingredients, and she began making the batter. Soon, the cookies were in the oven, and she turned to Jack, who’d been watching her from his place at the kitchen island. “Now we wait.” She cleaned up the few dishes and pushed herself up onto the counter with a smile.

“Tell me more about you.”

She blinked, her surprise coming through in her voice. “What?”

“I told you my back story. Tell me yours.”

She paused for a minute, just looking at him curiously. “There’s nothing too special about my life. I was born a few towns over before moving here when I was around four. Even back then, I remembered feeling this..connection..to this town. I never could explain it. I lived with my parents in town, and every now and then, we would go out to the cabin where I lived..” She paused. When had she starting referring to it in past tense?

“We would go there for a few nights and go out to that lake, the one where we met the first time. We used to go ice skating there.”

“Did you still go after you were attacked?”

She shook her head. “We never went back, and the cabin stayed abandoned until I moved in.”

“Why **did** you move in there?”

She shrugged. “Like I said, I always felt drawn to this town, this forest in particular. I don’t know why. The older I got, the stronger it grew. When my parents died, I lost all sense of purpose. I had nowhere to go, no one that cared, and no reason to live. I was alone. When I moved out here, it felt like...like I belonged somewhere again.” She told him truthfully, an almost wistful smile on her face. “When I leave the forest to go to work, I feel that pull again. Something is always drawing me here, and I’ve gotten used to it. I feel at home in this forest. I hadn’t felt that in a long time.”

Jack didn’t say anything, and you were surprised how comfortable the silence felt. There was no pressure to say anything. You could just peacefully exist side by side.

The timer dinged, knocking you both out of your thoughts. She hopped down to turn the oven off and got to work on the icing.

Jack strolled over after a few minutes to help, and she wasted no time putting him to work.

“What color, d’ya think we should do?” She asked thoughtfully. She’dpicked up several food colorings while you were at the store a few days ago. Each one had a color coded top, so she held them up so he could see. He plucked the green one from her hand, and she took a blue one.

She separated the icing into four bowls. They ended up with, dark blue, light blue, dark green, and light green. Then Jack passed her a bowl she hadn’t noticed before. He’d mixed some of the light blue and light green, creating a color that reminded her of the ocean.

“Looks like your eyes.”

She looked up at him in surprise. “Does it?”

He nodded, sliding past her easily. He opened the oven and grabbed the pan. He yelped, very narrowly managing to drop them on the counter instead of the floor.

Madison rushed over to him, taking the hand that he was clutching to his chest. “I know you haven’t cooked in hundreds of years, but I’d think you knew not to touch hot metal.”

He grumbled about not knowing it was still hot, and she just stared disbelievingly. “You just took it out of the oven!”

He glared at her. “The oven’s been off for ten minutes!” He snapped.

“It wouldn’t be an oven if it didn’t hold heat!” She retorted as she dragged him to the sink and started running cool water over the burn.

“Y’don’t haveta do that. I heal a lot quicker than a human.”

She just shook her head with a frown. “It still takes time. This’ll help take out some of the sting while it heals.”

~

Jack was right. By the time she’d finished decorating the cookies, the burn was mostly healed.

The next order of business was the tree. She managed to convince Jack to let her drop by her cabin to her her decorations, and she was practically buzzing with excitement as she sat the box down next to the tree. She’d also brought a step ladder.

She circled the tree as she wrapped it in fairy lights before breaking out the step ladder to reach the top.

“Almost there..” She murmured to herself, stretching up to wrap the last little section in lights.

“Be careful.”

She jumped at the sound of Jack’s voice, dropping the strand of lights as she reached to steady herself. There was nothing to hold onto though, and she tumbled forward, tensing up as she prepared to hit the ground.

She heard a thump, and Jack caught her in a way that made it look like she was swimming in midair.

“I told ya to be careful!”

Her feet touched the ground, and he held onto her as she regained her balance. “Sorry sorry, you just startled me.” She straightened up, only to find herself eye to eye, and almost nose to nose, with Jack.

His eyes were blue, sky blue, just like she remembered, just like the day they met. She never thought she would see those eyes again, the eyes of the person who saved her.

_“You’ll be alright, kid, just hold on a little longer.”_

The words came back to her suddenly, a memory of bloody snow and a blue sky.

She reached out to him, fingers grazing his cheek, feeling the stubble under her fingertips.

Blue eyes and warm breath on her face. She could drown in this moment, live happily in it forever if the world would let her.

But the world is a cruel place, and life is its mistress.

Blue eyes turned gray, and the sea turned stormy. A door shut behind the word, ‘mistake’, and everything came crashing down.

Was it bad that she was getting used to it? She should’ve known better. Happiness was always just out of her reach, always one step too far.

Her body moved on autopilot, back to her room, back to the emptiness.

Was emptiness better?

Did it hurt less than hope?

She didn’t know anymore.

She didn’t want to know anymore.

She stepped into the bathroom, finding the reflection in the mirror wasn’t her own. It was that child, small and sobbing, standing over a double grave.

People never stayed.

Was there something wrong with her?

People never stayed, but the pain did.

She heard running water, felt it on her skin, but it held no warmth anymore. It offered no comfort, only a reminder of the cold life she loved.

She reached for the razor. She’d done this before, so long ago.

Was it worth it?

Was it worth it to be numb?

She heard the clatter as it hit the wall.

No no no. She promised. She promised herself. She swore.

She wasn’t that kid anymore. She wasn’t the same.

No more numbness. It was time to face her heart, no matter how much it hurt.

She cried, loud and angry, giving way to heartbreaking sobs. It hurt in every sense of the word, like she was holding her bleeding heart in her hands. She cried until she had no tears left. She tilted her head to the sky and closed her eyes.

Even if she never got over Jack, she would survive, so for now, she would cradle her broken heart, and tomorrow, she would patch it up and face the world.

~

Jack stepped into the house a few hours later, listening carefully. There wasn’t a single sound, and that made him nervous. Madison was loud, chaotic. The house was never silent when she was around.

It felt eerie.

He crept quickly but silently up the stairs, stopping in front of her room. He listened again.

No sound.

He knocked.

No response.

He called her name.

Nothing.

Starting to get nervous, he pushed open her door. Her room was empty. He was about to leave when he noticed that the bathroom door was shut. She always left both it and her bedroom door open when she wasn’t inside.

He knocked on the bathroom door. He heard a splash, followed by an incoherent grumble. He turned the knob. The door wasn’t locked.

“I’m comin’ in!” He called. When there was still no response he opened the door, eyes darting around the room until they landed on her. She was sitting in the bathtub, drowsily drawing patterns in the steam on the window beside the bath. When she heard the door creak, she turned her head to him.

“How long ‘ave you been in here?”

“Don’t know.” She mumbled sleepily.

He sighed loudly, looking around until he found a towel. “Get out and put this on.” He turned away from her, crossing his arms over his chest.

After a minute, he heard the splash of water as she got out, followed by the sound of the water draining. He heard her footsteps as she moved towards him and felt her presence behind him as she took the towel from the counter. He fought the urge to turn around as she wrapped it around her body.

“Move.”

He did as she asked, and she moved easily past him. She moved leisurely through the room, gathering a change of clothes. He barely managed to cover his eyes before she dropped the towel to exchange it for a pair of pajamas. He only opened his eyes when he heard the creak of the bed. He removed his hands just in time to see her head disappear under the covers.

“Get out.”

He wanted to argue, tell her that she wasn’t the boss of him, but he couldn’t get the words out. He had hurt her. This was what he wanted. He couldn’t watch another person he cared for die.

So he left her room without a word.

He fell asleep that night with the image of porcelain skin and ocean eyes swimming in his head.


End file.
